• Welcome to Skyrim Forums! Register now to participate using the 'Sign Up' button on the right. You may now register with your Facebook or Steam account!
  • Hey there, and welcome to our roleplaying section. Please take some time to read two of these useful resources below, if you're already a roleplaying expert, then there's no need to read the following beginner's guide, but be sure to read the rules.

    Free Form Role Playing Guide for Beginners
    JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    Welcome! I'll have to add in any relevant information that me and Farth decide on later. For now this is a place holder, as well as place for listing the cast. If you're interested in joining, refer to the OOC for the majority of relevant information.

    If you're interested in merely reading along, the basic premise of this story will be surviving in a dark, high fantasy world called Fiáin, where the "gods" are like mad scientists and we are their lab rats. Only we are very discontent lab rats and we're totally going to try and rebel.

    OOC: http://skyrimforum.com/sf/threads/do-you-want-to-build-a-roleplaaaaay.78252/

    Cast:

    @Farthlion as Hallis
    Gidian as Tracker Jack
    @Nurozoxi as Kerrondern
    @Catbug Sqeagy as Veloc and Nevea
    @EpicVakarian as Bethany Swyft
     
    Last edited:

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    Jack loved hunting, but even he wasn't immune to fatigue. He was covered in dried mud, aside from his boots, which were covered in fresh mud. The squelching of his feet sinking into the ground, freshly softened by a fierce storm, accompanied him with every step. It served as his only companion on this walk to shelter, and it was the only companion he desired.

    Normally, he would take a great deal more care to avoid making unnecessary noise, both to keep his skills well honed as well as to always be ready for potential prey. However, he was exhausted, bones aching and the last time he slept a distant memory. He was bruised and cut up in several places from maneuvering through the dense foliage, and much worse from the prey he'd been hunting. For indeed, not all of the rips, tears, cuts, and punctures could be attributed to mere fauna, deadly in their own right as they may be.

    Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. He let each foot fall heavily until... Plnk! He was surprised to find his foot landing on something solid, with his eyes downcast and resting far back into a hood. He quickly realized he'd stepped on small porch, no small feat for his fatigued mind. With a relieved sigh, he threw his head back, throwing the hood from his head, and sized up his family's little cabin. It was makeshift and spartan, but home was home, all things considered. He'd have precious moments to rest alone, without his parents or brother (he made sure to leave them far behind on this expedition) to disturb him. His younger sister, Amandalyn, was barely half his age, yet he often found he could confide and relate to her best. He almost lamented that she wasn't home.. almost.

    With a tired, ragged sigh, he opened the door and staggered in, removing his muddy boots and cloak as fast as his lazy stupor would allow, and mentally prepared himself to lean on the wall for support on his way to bed. There were no sounds to accompany him other than the swishing of his furs and clothes, the clop of his boots hitting the wooden floor, and his own tired breathing. He tried to focus on breathing deeply and steadily, but most importantly audibly. He didn't like giving his mind too much time to wander in silence.

    But then, he heard it... a sound so feint, he thought it was a breeze at first. Then he realized it was a whispering. An intense whispering, that was becoming more and more persistent and audible by the second, until the single word it was repeating was almost clear... no, not word, but a name. Gill... Gill... Gill...


    "My... name... isn't... Gill..."

    Jack declared through clenched teeth, bringing one of his hands up to cradle his temples even as the other hand reached for his hunting knife. Of course, he didn't have anything in particular in mind for it, he just felt compelled to draw it. And something about a knife in his hand lended him a wicked sense of comfort.

    The whispering got more and more intense, more insistent, until it felt like a knife was being driven into his temples. It got faster and faster... Gill Gill Gill...


    And then Jack, his hand clasped firmly around the knife, drew it abruptly and violently with a vicious, inhuman snarl. But then, it was over. Just like that. With another tired sigh, Jack leaned against the wall, rubbing his temples some more and shaking his head, trying to slow his racing heart.

    It wasn't over yet, however, as a sharp, mocking voice called from the hallway, "Gill! Is that you?"


    Jack froze. He wasn't used to receiving a greeting when he returned from hunting, especially not when he was supposed to be the only one home. His eyes narrowed, and his senses went into overdrive as he distributed his weight evenly in a ready stance, holding the knife at the ready and advancing slowly and stealthily through to the back of the room. He put massive effort into evening out and controlling his breathing, trying to still his pounding heart. Well, this is new. I don't think that was a voice in my head. Seemed to come from...

    His eyes widened as he came to the realization that the voice had come from down the hallway, from his sister's room. He immediately took off running down the hallway, only for things to take an unexpected turn. Not now!

    He pleaded for his sanity in this moment, but it was not to be. Shadowy tendrils extended from the edges of the hallway, as the darkness seemed to come alive and take the form of many indistinct, horrible creatures. He froze for a split second, every muscle in his body going taut with extreme tension, before gritting his teeth and steeling himself for the inevitable.

    With a growl, he charged into the hallway, refusing to let fear and apprehension get the better of him. He was able to enter on grounds of sheer stubborn will and anger, but now that he was there, the situation quickly spiraled out of his control. The shadows rose up and intensified, swallowing him whole as he lashed out at everything around him with his knife, free hand, feet, elbows, knees, and even his forehead. He was a wild flurry of desperation, but it was for naught. The shadows wrapped around him, the tendrils forming hands and claws and maws lined the wicked teeth, all tearing into him and dragging across his skin. They grabbed at him and attempted to drag him down, but his attacks, while they were ultimately useless, still did the job of dissipating them. Occasionally he also came into contact with the solid walls, attacking them without hesitation, which served as an anchor for him to push through with. The knowledge that there was something solid that he could actually hit was invaluable. Soon, however, his whirling mass of knife edge and limbs saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

    With shadows mauling and tearing into him, he rushed towards the light, which amounted to a small vertical crack, with as much reckless abandon as he could muster. He came crashing into it with a ferocious crack, and just like that, he was on the other side of a door, the shadows nipping at his heels.

    There was no time for a reprieve, as he was then immediately thrust into the arms of yet another fierce looking antagonist. He had no time to process anything, only that he had emerged suddenly into his sister's room, only for some dark shadowy beast, indistinct in shape, glowing red eyes, long talons, serrated teeth, and bleeding shadowy tendrils to grab him. All of his instincts robbed him of conscious thought, as his knife already traveled for the beast's throat as he uppercut it in the jaw with his free hand in an attempt to fend off its bite. It delayed ripping into him with its claws as it attempted to stop the knife, grabbing Jack's knife hand by the wrist, and a fierce wrestling match began.

    In desperation and insanity, it quickly became apparent that Jack was the stronger of the two, as he kneed the creature in the gut and brought the knife down towards its neck. It was, however, quick enough to deflect the knife edge with its arm, spilling shadowy blood across Jack and over the room as the blade bit into its arms. There was a piercing screech as he grabbed the creature by the throat and abruptly stabbed it through the heart, a wicked smile coming to his lips as he realized that he had won. He had killed one of his tormentors! Finally! Vengeance!

    But then there was a thunderous boom, as all light was suddenly devoured, leaving him clinging to the creature in its death throws as it struggled for its life. Then the abrupt sound of torrential, extremely heavy, rain on the roof. This confused Jack, as his mind reeled with all the sudden events that had transpired.

    His confusion didn't last long, as lightning strike and another thunderous boom lit up the room for a split second, illuminating Jack's worst nightmare...

    The blood that he was now covered in, and now stained the room, was his sister's. And the creature he had been fighting was... No... No. No! Nonono NO!


    "Amandalyn?!"

    He was dumbstruck as the chestnut eyes of his sister stared wide eyed up at him, the flash of lightning leaving a permanent imprint of her on his mind. Her dark hair in a mess, blood on her face, arms, and clothes, her fair skin so pale it almost glowed. What struck him the most, however, were the tears that had welled up in her eyes. He attempted to remove the knife from her heart, as if he could somehow take back what had happened by removing it, but she clung to his wrist, and she was pulled closer to him. She reached up, cradling his face as she attempted to reach his ear. She was barely able to reach standing on her tiptoes, as he leaned down to make it easier for her. She whispered the words, "I lie beyond the sea." And then suddenly all was black after another thunderous boom and blinding flash.

    ----------------------------------

    When next he was aware of his surroundings, he immediately sat bolt upright, lashing out with his knife and letting out another vicious growl. It took him a moment to come back to reality, and realize slowly where he was and that it had been a nightmare. His knife was clean, and he was sleeping in the back of a wagon, alone.

    He sighed, rubbing his temples as he remembered where he was and what he was doing. The rest of the contents of the wagon were scattered about, as if the path they traveled had been particularly bumpy. But he knew better. It had been his troubled sleep which had led to this. It was raining and thundering hard, but that was normally only enough to give him more mild nightmares.

    He dragged himself to the front of the wagon and drew back the cover discreetly to watch the drivers. One of them had apparently tried to wake him up, judging by the bruises and bandages they were sporting. He stifled a chuckle of pride and glee, but quickly sobered. He reached down as far as he could, trying not to catch their attention, and grabbed his pack. He just barely managed to drag it to him, able to reach it mainly with his finger tips, and was back in the back of the wagon before either of them noticed.

    Once he was sure all was ready, he braced himself for making his disappearance. He was thankful they had brought him this far, but storm or no, he needed to get his sister and move on. These travelers would all likely be ambushed soon. As soon as the storm ended, their window would be closed.

    At the first thunderous boom and flash of light, he jumped out of the back of the wagon, bending his knees as he impacted the ground and rolling, so as to reduce noise and impact, as well as get out of the way of the wagon following behind. The sound of his splashing in the mud was covered by the thunder, and the sudden flash impaired any watcher's night vision.

    Now covered in mud and drenched, he began stalking the outskirts of the caravan, checking each wagon one by one for his sister, taking great care to remain undetected. The sentries made a valiant effort in the storm, but it was all for naught. It was child's play for Jack to sneak around them, blinded and deafened as they were by the storm.

    He eventually found his sister, curled tightly under her blanket, resting against the wagon wall, eyes wide open and hair in a mess. She obviously couldn't find rest in the storm, and he smiled wickedly as he sneaked around the side of the wagon to get behind her and put a sudden hand over her mouth to muffle her being startled. He was rewarded by her nearly jumping out of her skin, causing his wicked smile to grow as she realized it was him. Her eyes asked the silent question, Is it time?


    He nodded, and waited for her to get ready as she threw a cloak around herself and threw on her pack. He then hoisted her out of the wagon, and with him leading, they outpaced the snail paced caravan without being detected.

    They didn't talk much on the rest of their journey, the storm making it so that they would have had to shout to even be heard, and even then their words would be indistinct and garbled. Not to mention that they had to move quickly now, as the relative peace of the wilderness would quickly change as the storm ended, everything which had taken shelter coming back with a ravenous hunger. Not to mention that the trail which had been painstakingly cleared for the caravan wagons would quickly become overgrown again, making travel with the wagons nigh impossible.

    It seemed to take ages until they got close to their destination, Jack carrying his little sister on his back most of the way, as the water levels rose past his waist in much of the area they had to traverse. By this point, it had become very obvious to him that anyone who tried to stay with the slow moving wagons, which were undoubtedly getting bogged down and stuck repeatedly, would die. Not that he lamented it, however, as they would be useful in keeping the attention of any monsters in the area.

    Jack was extremely alarmed when the torrential rain, coming down by the gallons, abruptly stopped. He didn't like the prospect of wandering the wilderness on his own without a storm to cover him. But, his sister tugged on his cloak as he took a more ready stance, immediately preparing for all Hell to break loose, and pointed up. He hadn't seen something quite so fascinating and awesome in a long time. The storm was still raging, but some sort of invisible dome was keeping the worst of it out, the odd patterns of rain hitting and cascading down the sides.

    Determined to get a better idea of his surroundings, he began looking for a sizable tree, which he found and scaled with quite a bit of effort, his fatigued body complaining and the weight of his sister not making it any easier. But she should see this too. He got as close to the top as he could without risking any branches that were too thin to bare the combined weight of himself and his sister.

    Upon looking out into the distance, he remained silent, respecting his sister's awe. Sprawled out before them was a massive coalition encampment, spanning far into the horizon with structures of various shapes and sizes, and also creatures and races of varied shapes and sizes, some of them so huge, Jack and Amandalyn couldn't see past them. As a massive bolt of lightning lit up the far sky, Jack let out an extremely impressed whistle, as the mountains which cradled them around the ocean were immediately visible in the distance, if only for a split second, impossibly large. Thy were so vast, even though Jack knew he could walk for many months if not years and still not reach them, that they could be confused with the skyline. His sister let out a pleased laugh, before Jack pretended to let his fingers slip off the branch, temporarily giving her the sensation of falling. She immediately squealed in terror, much to his amusement. He quickly reestablished his grip on the relatively dry branch, and laughed. She punched him in the shoulder, as they made their way down the tree, Jack picking his path carefully.

    Normally reckless, he was forced to go much more slowly to accommodate for his fatigue, the extra weight, the slight dampness, as well as the looming threat that if he fell from a great height, he or is his sister could be critically injured, which would mean death in this world. He was so intent on climbing down carefully, in fact, that he failed to notice the sudden intake of breath, sudden tightening of grip, and quickened heart rate of his sister.

    It did not occur to him at all, in fact, until his feet landed on solid (though muddy) ground. By then, of course, it was a little late, as he quickly took stock of his surroundings and his sister's shocked face, frozen in horror as she pointed into the surrounding foliage. Drawing his hunting knife and throwing knife, Jack lowered himself into a ready stance, preparing for the attack of a wild beast of some sort.

    He was thankful his sister hadn't screamed, whether she was too terrified for it or had had the good sense to read the situation. Jack was unable to detect whatever it was, though he had no doubt it was there. If she had screamed and alerted it that it's stalking was futile, there was every chance it would have decided to strike early, and throw caution to the wind. Successful predators avoided injury, for winning with an injury was still a loss if it meant you were too weak to hunt or defend yourself. Especially if infection or disease set in, which meant certain death.

    "How many?" Jack inquired as quietly as he could. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

    "O-on-one... I think..." She mumbled slightly louder.

    "You think?" He teased with a wicked half smile and slight chuckle.

    "Why are you laughing?!" She demanded, obviously flustered.

    With a glint in his pitch black eyes, he responded, "Because I can't fight with you on my back very well, so you're going to have to make a break for it. If there's more than one..."


    She gulped in response, but he offered nothing but a chuckle for comfort. "Hey, Little Firefinch?"

    "Yeah?"

    "You like this weather?"

    "What does that have to do with anything?"

    "Oh come on, indulge me."

    "Only if you win!"

    "No promises. Run fast." Jack said soberly, his smile fading and his eyes narrowing in intense concentration. Then, suddenly, he shouted as loud as he could, "NOOOOWWWWWWWW!" And threw his sister backwards, propelling her at a sprint in the opposite direction as he charged into the shadows.

    He heard the intense and feral growl of a wild beast, which his mind quickly filtered into an echo of roars, coming to a deafening crescendo in his ears. The splash of his feet in the water as he charged forward was lost in it, the sound of the roaring thunder now rising as well, the flash of lightning illuminating a horde of pulsating maws, claws, and everything in between, shadowy tendrils curling off of them as his mind filtered reality from his grasp.

    He growled back as fiercely as he could muster, conscious that he wasn't seeing what was truly there in reality, and so moving and attacking like a madman, for he was a madman. The whirling mass of tooth and claw abruptly scattered in all directions, quickly surrounding Jack and closing in on him.

    He feinted a jump forward, but abruptly dropped low to the ground, sliding feet first under the roiling mass of shadowy violence, plunging his knives as deeply into it as they would go, a predatory smile gracing his lips at the satisfying give of flesh, then the wrenching drag of the bite of the blades dragging across something living, and the smell and feel of blood splashing across his face brought all of his muscles and senses to their most heightened state.

    Of course, the monster, whatever it was, lashed out with all of it's claws, quickly recovering as it brought its shadowy mass to bare over Jack. Its claws slashed wildly as it sought to tear him to pieces and dislodge him from its underside. It let out a high, piercing screech, and began to roll viciously in an attempt to reach Jack, who was by now bleeding heavily from the myriad of cuts acquired across his torso, his shirt in shredded tatters.

    Jack shifted his weight to the side with all his might, and moved his elbow to shield his face as one of the creature's many sets of jaws came for his throat, clamping down hard on his arm. He let out a growl of pain, seeking to keep it off balance by keeping the roll going, driving into it with the knife in his free hand over and over again, using his knees to contest its hind legs for control. He made sure to bite it back as hard as he could at the slightest given opportunity, just to make himself feel better.

    Seconds crawled by like eternities as he and the beast rolled and wrestled in the mud, the creature having a large advantage in strength and speed, but Jack possessing superior positioning, making it difficult for it to get at any of his vital areas. However, he was rapidly getting weaker as the dizziness from so much rolling and twisting began to set in, the blood-loss not helping, and the excruciating pain beginning to bother even his masochistic side. It was clear that if he did not finish it off within seconds, he would be killed. And yet, his knives were not long enough to find its heart through its thick hide and muscle, and he was too busy protecting his own throat to get at its throat in return.

    In a final, desperate attempt, he allowed himself to come to sudden stop, the creature's momentum still sliding them in the mud for several feet, then immediately capitalized on the creature's mistakes of attempting to steady itself with a paw. He drove his throwing knife as deeply into it as he could, causing the creature to recoil in pain, shock, and rage. He needed no further opportunity. As it reared its head back and attempted to rip away its paw, he lunged for its throat, gripping it in a tight headlock and swinging around on its back as he drove his hunting knife in again and again, through its throat, eyes, and whatever else he could get to, not able to distinctly make out any features through his now blood and mud covered eyes.

    The beast roared, and began bucking and rolling like a possessed thing, attempting to throw him off and crush him. But he held on with the strength of desperation, even cutting himself several times in the chaos as he desperately tried to mortally wound it.

    However, he couldn't hold on for long, and he lost his grip as its fur slipped through his blood and mud soaked fingers. It wasted no time in attempting to reassert itself and rip out Jack's throat, capitalizing on the fact that Jack had lost his knife, and was too weak to defend himself even if he hadn't.

    And yet, as his vision became to blurry, and his eyes stung too strongly for him to see, the expected death never came. He felt blood fall all over his face, and then the dead weight of whatever the creature was falling on him, driving what little breath he could muster from his lungs as one last form of spite.

    But then, the weight was lifted off of him, and he was dimly aware of a sizable thnk as something large impacted the mud several feet away. Great. Now something bigger is going to eat me... his slow mind managed to put together as his last cohesive thought, as the red tinged humanoid outline of an absolutely giant thing with sword arms came into his view. It had its head cocked slightly to the side, whatever it was, and he was dimly aware of muffled laughter. But it was as if he was hearing it from far away, and it was drifting even further away as he mercifully drifted into unconsciousness.

    -------------------------------

    The next time he found consciousness, he was in a great deal of pain. He hurt all over his body, and his head felt as if it was going to explode at any minute. Every breath was ragged, and he felt as if every one was breaking a bone. His throat and mouth were dry, his lips chapped, and he could distinctly taste the remains of blood on his tongue, as if he had swallowed a gallon of it.

    Some may accuse Jack of being bloodthirsty, but he didn't think it tasted good, and it always left his mouth feeling dry and weird. Maybe not to this degree, but still, even murderous psychopaths could have standards.

    He could feel a cough coming on, and tried desperately to avoid it. The anticipation and the build up were absolute torture, as a small, delicate hand gripped his hand. He knew it was Amandalyn's without opening his eyes, and he suspected even if he did open his eyes, he would only see the underside of bandages. He couldn't help but tearing his eyes open as the pressure and the pain of the incoming cough became too much to bear, the sheer pain of it causing his entire body to go rigid and attempt to jerk and curl up from the pain, though strong restraints kept him from doing so. He squeezed Amandalyn's hand much harder than he would have if he were consciously aware, the coughs wracking through every single part of his body, as if every bone were breaking at once, and his skin was splitting open. Especially his head. He didn't think his skull and brain could take much more, before whatever caretakers who were responsible for healing him came into the room. He was only aware of their presence because he felt their hands on him, trying to relax and restrain him while they attempted to force a sedative down his throat. However, his body rejected it, as he wretched and cough some more, none of the mystery liquid going down.

    He began to yell and roar in pain, as his entire body attempted to double over against his will again, his stomach turning as if it was going to explode, and he wretched helplessly as he threw up the meager contents of his stomach, mostly the blood gore which had found its way down his throat in the fight against the unknown monster.

    Soon, he was unconscious again.

    When next he awoke, he tried to open his eyes immediately, and took much more careful, slower breathes. The bandage was thinner this time, or maybe his mind was freer to notice, but whatever the case, he noticed his sister through the thin sheet, sleeping next to his bed....

    He has to take a few moments to reabsorb that fact. BED?!


    He suppressed a surprised inhale, as looked around the room and took stock, careful not to disturb his sister. There was a small team of what he assumed to be healers, also fast asleep, settled in various places all around the room. Some of them had fallen to exhaustion in the middle of something, apparent by several odd positions. Some of them had apparently fallen asleep on watch, fast asleep in what had probably been alert positions. Others were sleeping on the floor with proper cushions, apparently on break.

    He nearly jumped out of his skin as a low, very very deep voice rumbled from directly behind him, "So, you're not dead after all."



    He was surprised, and almost went into another fit, when two hands came down on his head, which he had been attempting to jerk around and get a look at the surprise intruder, and forced it back to the cushion. He let out a startled gasp despite himself, surprised to find that there was one more person in the room he hadn't noticed.

    He saw an upside down set of eyes looking down over him, a deep and intense shade of violet. He instantly zeroed in on the eyes, barely considering the dark hair and naturally tan skin, as it was lost on him. He was aware mainly of the fact that she was an attractive young woman, roughly his age, glaring into his eyes as if he was a failed experiment, and with both hands on his head as if she was ready to squash it at any moment.

    He decided there were worse ways to die, as he squinted his eyes to see better through his bandage, and observed in a hoarse and croaking whisper of a voice, "Your eyes are purple. That's not normal." He managed a provoking half grin, before fatigue made him drop it, exhausted again from the effort of those few words.

    Her left eye twitched, and her glare intensified. She began speaking some gibberish language which he couldn't make sense of, but it sounded good. Listening to it made him relax, and he had just enough time to give her a dumbfounded look, as if to say, The Hell are you saying? She responded by intensifying her glare, which by now he could feel was actually radiating power, the force of it making his skin prickle.

    While he could not really understand any of the words, they left him with a strong compulsion to shut up, relax, stay calm, and oddly enough something as specific as, "Don't mock me, or I'll kill you". He was a tad bit confused about that last part, but it made him laugh, which hurt.

    Then, a large hand gripped the girl's shoulder, and she exited Jack's field of vision. Then, the deep, masculine voice from earlier boomed, "I'm impressed. You did well to make it here alive, and even better to get your sister here unmolested. Although, you made keeping you alive extremely difficult. You did not respond to most healing magic or mental probing. But... you seem to be made of stern stuff. I won't say you're lucky, you're not. But you're luckier than most to be alive, and of use. We'll talk more when your wounds have made a sufficient enough recovery. Until then, don't die. We used a lot of resources to keep you from kicking the bucket. We are taking bets on whether or not you live, Tracker Jack."


    His lips curled into a half cocked smile, wondering if it was the girl's voice that was so deep and masculine in his tired mind. Soon, however, he was asleep with his sister's hand in his, an anchor to the world as his unconscious mind wrestled with itself. He probably wouldn't remember most of that encounter, but he couldn't help but get the feeling that those purple eyes were familiar...

    He lost track of how long it was before he made a recovery, the doctors and healers taking good care of him. He took advantage of his position at every opportunity for his own amusement, much to the chagrin of whoever was assigned to be his caretaker. They were apparently under orders from the deep voice, which he now only barely remembered, to keep him alive and healthy. Of course, once he could move again, it wasn't long before he made a more or less full recovery. However, being bed ridden for so long had left him weaker, and he was surprised to find that his sister had been put to work. He saw her less and less, and by the end of his ordeal, he had no idea where she had been sent. He was annoyed by that fact, but it was to be expected.

    He had made it into the Coalition Community, in one piece, and they deemed him useful enough to keep alive. Already worth ditching the rest of my family!


    He assumed that they also had found a use for his sister, although he would certainly have something to say about that once he got his strength back. If he wasn't satisfied with her lot, then someone was going to die. He came to this resolution easily and with almost a tired, lazy acceptance. As if killing could be easy for him.

    With some acting and sneaking about, he was able to hide the degree of his recovery from his caretakers. He used the knowledge that their mental probes weren't very effective on him, so helpfully supplied by the big man, to assume that they wouldn't be able to detect his recovery through non physical means. And so, stealing from his bed, changing into some of his clothes, retrieving his pack, and sneaking out of the tent had been easy. Unfortunately, he hadn't been permitted to wander or explore very far outside, as he had typically been constrained to only the most basic of exercises and limited time to stay in shape and breathe fresh air. So, he quickly found himself wandering aimlessly around, hopelessly lost in the surprisingly large community, simply unable to comprehend how such a large gathering of people were able to sustain and protect themselves. Or course, he soon found that there was much more than just people here, as many large behemoths crossed his path. There were also quite a few monstrosities in the skies, scouting and wandering around. He would have to be careful in the future, but for now he was free of worry. The alarm shouldn't be raised for quite some time yet.

    He put his hands casually in his pockets, and whistled a catchy tune as he slowly learned to navigate his new surroundings, though still favoring his right arm, which he only dimly remembered using as a shield for his throat in his fight. He still actually had several bandages on under his clothes, but he wasn't worried about such things. He just wanted to have some fun.

    After several hours of taking in his new setting with wide eyed wonder, taking several opportunities to steal foods which he had never had the pleasure of laying eyes on before, he generally had a great time. Then, of course, it was ruined when he walked into what seemed to be a small community R&R spot, only for an absolutely giant of man, absolutely dwarfing Jack in both height and thickness, to roughly grab him by the shoulder and force him into a different direction. He briefly contemplated resisting, but knew by the strength of the man's grip, as well as the look in his eyes that such a move would be nothing less than suicidal. So, with a resigned sigh, he took up his whistling again and was led along into the unknown.

    They'd walked for a long while before stopping before a medical tent, Jack at first assuming that he'd be thrown back into the infirmary, and sighing miserably at the prospect. He looked at the giant man with resentment, taking in the light brown hair, stupendous beard, and light brown eyes with fiery resentment. He was about to protest, when the man pointed at the infirmary as a tent flap was thrown aside. Jack was surprised to get a brief glimpse of his sister inside, in deep concentration, presumably being taught the ways of the healers. This cut off any remark he had been about to unload, and Jack sighed again, this time out of contentment.

    "Alright. What do you want, uh..." He trailed off, not sure what to call the huge man.

    "Call me Sid. And before you ask, I'm a half giant. What I want is a complicated question. Walk with me." Without waiting for Jack to respond or even agree, the giant, Sid, turned Jack around by his shoulder and once more marched off with him.

    Jack, guessing questions would be answered later, once more submitted to being led. This time, however, the destination didn't even draw out a hint of complaint from Jack, as he was led to the edge of what appeared to be a small, roughly constructed fight pit. "Stay here. Ask one of the workers for food or water if you need it. Watch the fights. Wait for future instruction. Choose wisely."


    With that, Sid turned to leave. But Jack reached up to grab his arm and get his attention, wanting to ask one last question. "Why?"

    The giant at first seemed to be ready dismiss the question as merely a question of his orders, but then realized by the look on Jack's face that he'd meant something far more than that. Jack was asking why go through the trouble of saving him. The giant smiled and laughed heartily. "You're weak, frail, and stupid! I doubt you're going to live long. But you've got guts, even if I have to show 'em to you one day. And... you're resourceful, deadly, and extremely stealthy. You fly under the radar very well, and we're going to need that."

    "What do you mean by 'we'? There's no way your entire army needs me." Jack accused, a natural skeptic and not used to praise.

    The giant blinked, as if Jack had just poked him in the nose. Then, he coolly responded, "For a scouting team, of course. An army needs eyes, son. Especially with the gods themselves baring down on us. My team will be just one of many, and I found you first. Consider me a talent scout. You will be joined by the other members at some point. Try not to die."


    With that, he left Jack to his own devices, presumably to find more "talent". He sighed, pondering what he had meant by that last remark, and found a comfortable place to sit and spectate the fights in the pit. He wore a contented smile on his face for a few moments, remembering his sister in that infirmary, before remembering he'd still had one question. Had he won that fight against the thing that attacked him? He didn't remember for sure, and he also wanted to know exactly what it was. But how could he ask without alerting them to his condition? Something about the thought of being revealed as a mental case gave him the feeling that he would be deemed more of handicap than an asset, a danger to his fellows, even. So, his content smile gone, he was left to wonder with the sound of fighting to pass the time, presumably waiting for other recruits.

    He did not catch the intense look of concern Sid cast his way, before disappearing into the community.
     
    Last edited:

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Kerrondern grunted as a heavy kick connected with his side, and stumbled to the floor. Steadying himself with his arm, Kerrondern looked up into the eyes of the drunk, his lightning blue eyes narrowing. While the demon was used to brawls, he preferred to fight someone who knew what they were doing. Reaching for his stone ax, Kerrondern charged the drunkard, headbutting the brute's crotch. With a howl of pain, the huge human tumbled to the floor, eyes crossed and legs curled up for protection. Before Kerrondern could advance again, though, one of the human's friends stepped over his fallen comrade, drawing a rusted dirk and sneering at Kerrondern. "You freak! I'll end you!" he snarled, tightening his grip before stepping towards Kerrondern.

    Unable to resist the temptation, Kerrondern slammed his ax against his Stonerotted hand, causing sparks to fly and illuminate his knotted face. "Blechyuk! Humans are all the same. Hope you're ready to lose a fight to a plant," and with that, Kerrondern ran at the human, ax raised high behind him. Holding his right arm up as a shield, Kerrondern blocked the flimsy strike the human made, and smashed his ax into the man's knee, obliterating the bones and dropping the screaming man to the ground before silencing him with a kick to the head. Turning, Kerrondern made way for the bar's exit and fresh air. Before he could, though, a third person stepped in front of the doorway, arms crossed and mottled skin shining in the torchlight.

    "Where do you think you're going, Scourge? Off to rape some poor girl again?" the behemoth called. Standing more than eight feet tall, the huge man more than dwarfed Kerrondern's mere three foot height, and must have outweighed him by three hundred pounds. Normally, Kerrondern would steer clear of a fight with giantkin, but the memories triggered his buried pain, and all he saw was red. "Demon, yes, but I am no monster!" he cried, rushing the hugeling and launching himself at the giantkin's face. Foregoing his usual fighting style, Kerrondern neglected using his stone ax and instead used his Stonerotted arm as a weapon. His arm shot forward into the giant's chest, four fingers digging into the flesh with the force of a cannon and plunging into his lungs. Flexing the muscles, Kerrondern gripped the giant's bones and steadied himself on the man's torso with his feet and left arm. Holding on for dear life as the giant flailed and screamed, beating at Kerrondern's body with his tree trunk arms, Kerrondern braced himself as he crushed the bones in his hand and tore a chunk out of the giant's chest. Blood surged out of the open wound, gushing over Kerrondern before running down the man's body in a red torrent. Bringing his arm back behind him, Kerrondern threw his arm once, twice, three times into the newly made cavity, sending splurges of gore with each impact. By this time, the giant's skin had lost much of its color, and the blows had slowed and weakened. Finally, Kerrondern reached up and plunged his fingers into the giant's neck, and raked his arm down the man's body, tearing the skin to pieces and causing another river of blood to start flowing. As the giant teetered, Kerrondern dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, and walked back to his fallen ax. As he sheathed it, the giant's corpse finally collapsed, breaking the bar door down and sprawling out into the street, much to the dismay of pedestrians.

    Unmolested, Kerrondern walked out the open doorway, followed only by the horrified stares of the bar's patrons. Dropping a few coins by the opening, Kerrondern headed out of the bar and left the town. Upon reaching the outskirts of the small town, Kerrondern was joined by a small creature, who had been waiting for him since his entry. Climbing onto his gnarled head, the kespi, barely larger than a common cat, curled up in his twisted root-like hair. Cradling his right arm, Kerrondern tried to keep his mind off of the throbbing pain the growing Stonerot caused him, as he headed off towards the next town.
    FCUvqDP.png

    As the sun set in Kerrondern's eyes, he noticed a light drizzle start, the droplets splashing against his wooden skin as his eyes scanned the ground for feet, rocks, and food. Over the course of his walk, Kerrondern had kept a constant vigil for anything edible, keeping the goods he found in a sack he carried with him. From squirrels the kespi hunted to berries and vegetables Kerrondern picked, all the food made its way into the bag until nightfall. By the time darkness was setting, the duo had acquired a good sum of food, mostly edible berries and greens, and had set up camp off the road. Using his arm and ax for sparks, Kerrondern lit a fire and started roasting the two birds the kespi had hunted for himself, and left the ground squirrel uncooked for his companion to feast on. Divvying up the remaining nuts and this day's fruit and veggies between the two, Kerrondern and the kespi enjoyed their small feast together before resting beside the fire.

    After only a few hours, though, Kerrondern was awoken by the soft swatting of the kespi's paw against his face. Shaking himself awake, Kerrondern grabbed his ax and sank into the brush, readying himself for a fight. Moments later, a huge, bristly monstrosity lumbered by the dead fire, sniffing at the glowing embers before turning to look directly at Kerrondern, and issuing a low growl. "Whatcha find, Gren?" a voice called from the darkness, followed shortly after by a tall, portly man. "Go away!" Kerrondern cried, masking his location from the human, "Got nothing for you!" At his cry, the man jumped, and looked about as he hefted his own two handed ax.

    "Ya ain't got nuthin' ta worry about, mate!" he called, hands tightening on the shaft. "Just passing through! Jus' me an me friend. Uh, Gren. He's a lil' puppy, no harm'll come of him! I swear on me mum!" Kerrondern could just make out the huge beast looking to the human, and the human making gestures with his hands before the man started speaking again. "Like I said, just passing through! If ya wouldn't mind just coming out, so's as I can make sure ya ain't gonna hurt me an me dog, I'll skip right on through, an ya won't have no troubles!" As he said this, the man started kicking out the embers, darkening the area even more, as his 'dog' began circling around Kerrondern in a silent sidestep. "That's no dog, human! Get gone, or I'll kill him!" Kerrondern called back, readying his ax again.

    "Oh, my bad! Sometimes I, er, forget how big 'e is. So, I'll just be leaving then, no harm done, yeah?" In the pitch blackness, Kerrondern heard the man's heavy footsteps sound heavy, but then lighter and lighter. Kerrondern almost relaxed before he heard the kespi exhale quickly, a quiet sign of warning the two had devised together. Turning on his heel, Kerrondern lashed out behind him with his ax as the human, closer than before, called "NOW, GREN!" Thanks to the warning, though, Kerrondern's ax smashed right into Gren's muzzle, cracking it across the mouth and shattering the whole row of right teeth in its jaw. With a howl, Gren lurched back onto his hind legs, kicking at the air as Kerrondern used his ax to bite into the underbelly, sending a spray of blood out of its stomach. Dropping back onto all six legs, Gren growled and snapped at Kerrondern with his remaining teeth, narrowly missing Kerrondern's nose. "Grekk!" Kerrondern cried as he recognized the beast, hopping backwards, and out of the brush. With an oof, Kerrondern bumped into the human's legs as he avoided Gren's chomping maw. "Damn! What the Hell are you?" the human cried, snatching at Kerrondern with his massive hands.

    Rolling away and behind the human, Kerrondern got a front row view as the grekk tumbled into the human, knocking him down and tumbling in the dust. "Stupid Grekk! Not me, you useless -- oof -- I said not me!" The human's arm went back and punched the grekk in the face, sending it tumbling into the brush. To throw something that big with just a punch? Kerrondern thought, Better not let him grab me. "Rikku!" Kerrondern called, as he twirled his ax, "Rikku, come!" A moment later, the kespi launched itself out of the tree it was hiding in, and landed next to Kerrondern before climbing onto his head. "Time to go, Rikku!" he said, as he hefted a rock. With all his might, Kerrondern threw the rock and hit the human square in the head, knocking him flat. Without a second glance, Kerrondern turned and sprinted down the road, heading towards Caesceum, the settlement he'd been working towards for three days now. Better now than dead, he thought.
     

    Sqeagy

    The Gentle Utensil
    "Well this isn't exactly how I planned to start today off." Veloc said seemingly to himself as he was surrounded by the bar patrons, six of them to be in fact. "Come on guys, can't we just let this is little mishap go? Next rounds are on me." He proceeded to pull out some money only for it to be slapped out of his hands by one of the men. "After those jokes you made about our mother, you think we'll let you just buy us booze and run off?!" The tallest of the bunch shouted at Veloc. "Well to be honest yeah. And come on, how was I supposed to know you're all siblings? Those ugly mugs make it impossible to tell." Veloc winced as he said it. This won't end well. The human thought to himself. "WHAT'S THAT?!" All at once, the men proceeded to pull out various swords and axes from the their sheathes. "We'll gut you like a pig!" They inched closer as Veloc backed up into the bar. "Listen, I don't want to do this, but I have to warn you: You guys are seriously outmatched." The men laughed, their faces turning bright red. "Oh yeah? It's six against one and WE'RE outmatched?!" Veloc leaned on the bar. "Hey! Six against two. She's with me." He pointed to a girl with a blindfold sitting at the bar, minding her own business drinking ice water, an odd choice considering it was freezing outside. "Hah! The six of us against you and a blind girl? What a joke!" The brother who was bulging in muscles ran forward and threw a punch and aimed for the blind girl as she was drinking.

    This was his first mistake. Veloc recognized, the girl recognized it and the man recognized shortly after throwing the punch. As he threw it the girl threw her own hand into his fist, stopping the punch in it's tracks. The man as well as his brothers stopped and watched as the girl, still holding his fist, put her drink onto the bar and looked at the man. He could feel a chill go through his arm as she faced him.
    "This is your first, and last mistake." She threw her other fist at the man's face, knocking him to the ground and out cold. The men looked at each other in a panic. Veloc looked at the girl. "Nevea, I thought you were gonna kiss him, not take him down! You just made things worse!" Nevea turned and looked in Veloc's direction. "I made things worse?! I didn't makes jokes about their mother's arse!" She walked towards her companion, starting an argument. Veloc looked genuinely offended. "How dare you! I didn't make jokes about their mother's arse! I said that their mother's face looks like an a-" "HEY!" The tallest brother yelled. "First you make fun of our mother, then you knock out Heinrich, and now you make fun of our mother again?! KILL THEM!" The five remaining brothers charged towards the two. Nevea looked at her companion. "Fists or..." Veloc shook his head in agreement. "Yup. Whoever knocks out the most wins ten coin. Let's get them."

    Veloc dodged the nearest brother's axe and snapped the pole, breaking it in half. He took the bladed part and swung at the man's face, cutting the man's long beard in half. "Muh beard!" The man shouted as he grabbed the hair on the floor and tried to reattach it to his remaining fuzz. Veloc patted the man's shoulder. "Trust me pal, you need it gone." He reassured the heartbroken brother before slamming his head into a nearby pole, knocking him out. Nevea was fight two at the same time, apparently twins both what appeared to be poorly crafted spears. "Let's-" "Get her!" The two said, one finishing the other's sentence. Nevea wasn't having any of it. "Sorry about this." She leaped to side as one of the twins lunged and grabbed his spear, whacking him in the side of the face and taking it from him. She blocked a sideswipe from the other brother and pulled the 2nd spear from him. "Hey! That's my uhhhh, what's it called again?" The twin asked his brother. "Pointy stick?" The brother suggested. "Yeah that's it! Give me back my pointy-" Nevea grabbed the twin and threw him towards the wall. The 2nd twin missed his punch, and wound up being thrown to the wall, smashing into his brother. Nevea ran forward and stabbed both spears into the wall,having them go through the clothes of the twins. "Hey!" The one called out, trying to shake loose. "We're stuck!" the other called out. Nevea walked over to them. "Sorry! I hope you guys forgive me later!" She punched the closest brother in the face, who then smashed his twin's head into the wall, knocking them both out. Nevea looked over to see that Veloc had just knocked out another brother. The tallest brother looked at Veloc. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention, Nevea snuck behind him. "No! There's no way you knocked them out!" He turned to run, only to see Nevea's small figure, barely reaching his chest. "Boo." "GAHHHH!" The man turned to the right and ran....right into a pole. He fell to the floor unconscious.

    Veloc walked over to Nevea, who was inspecting the damage done to the inn.
    "This could've been avoided you know." She said, looking at her companion. "So who get's that point? I mean, I cornered him, but he ran from you. I think maybe we should call it a ti-" "WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN HERE?!" Nevea and Veloc turned around to find the source of the deep noise, looking at a nearby staircase. At the top was the biggest guy they had either of them had ever seen. He was at least eight feet tall with long brown, wearing a sleeveless robe that was a bit too short, only coming down to above his knees. Both his arms and legs were covered in hair. The man pounded down the staircase, each stair moaning under the weight. "Oh great." Nevea whispered under her breathe. It was at this point that the most muscular of the brothers woke up, noticing his unconscious brothers, and the two he was supposed to beat up. However he turned to look at the new arrival "Momma!" Both Veloc and Nevea looked at each other in confusion. "Did he just say-" "Momma?"

    Now that Veloc looked at the new arrival, he could the slightest hint of brassiere through an opening in the robe. The man, or rather woman stomped forward looking at Veloc and Nevea. "Are you two the ones who beat up my darling children and smashed by beautiful inn?!" Veloc couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Oh man, it's true! I can't believe it! HA!" He fell to the ground in laughter. Nevea looked at the woman. "I'm sorry.....miss! I swear we'll pay for all the damages and apologize to your sons...once they wake up." The massive woman shook her head and looked at them. "How did this even start?!" "Uh, momma." The woman bent down as the muscular son whispered into ear the joke Veloc made. "Veloc!" She whispered. "We should probably go n-" "HE SAID WHAT?!!?!" Nevea looked up only to be grabbed by the throat by the one of the massive woman's hands. She reached down and grabbed Veloc, nearly choking him during his laughing fits. The woman dragged the two to the door as the muscular son opened the door outside and threw both Veloc's and Nevea's belongings out into the snow, shortly followed by their owners. "And don't even think about coming back here ever again!" The mammoth-woman slammed the door shut.

    Veloc dug himself out of the snow and grabbed his bag, looking back at the inn.
    "No wonder why they have such an enormous door." Veloc smiled as Nevea dug herself out of the snow in front of him. He stopped smiling when he noticed she looked a bit....annoyed. "This is the third inn this month. You said we were gonna find a place to stay last month. What are we going to do?" Veloc looked at Nevea, trying to avoid eye contact. Well in this case, blindfold contact. However, Nevea ripped off her blindfold and stared him down with those purple eyes. The one thing giving her away as a Demonic. "Look, forget this inn. There's a place near here, called Caesceum. Those brothers from the inn told me about it earlier. Supposed to be huge and filled with people. There's no way we can't find a job or place to live there. Only an hour from here. They said something about else, but they were drunk and slurring their words." "Then let's go!"

    As it turned out, there was no straight path to Caesceum from where they were. They had to cross through a forest to get there, finally finding a path leading to the supposed city. "Finally! This is the path. After you my lady." Veloc exclaimed, cutting down a bush to see the path. Nevea took his offer and walked onto the path, only to collide with someone running down it, sending them both to the ground. Veloc would've laughed, but he saw the person Nevea ran into looked...like a tree.
     

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Tumbling to the dusty road, Kerrondern had just enough time to throw his arms in front of his face, and rolled down the hill at least a dozen paces. Picking himself up and spitting out dust, Kerrondern reached for his blunted ax, and swung around to glare at his would-be assailants. "First a giant, then a grekk, and now a pair of kids come looking to end me? What is this?" Eyeing the pair, Kerrondern slammed his arm against his body, and whistled. "Rikku, get your arse over here! I know you're listening! And why didn't you warn me about them?"

    Focusing on the teenagers again, Kerrondern sized up the duo. "And what's this? No weapons? How do you plan on killing something if you don't even come equipped? And don't tell me your demon lady friend is gonna come at me with her fingers, cause I've got her beat!" Kerrondern jumped as Rikku climbed onto his head from the shadows. "You no-good kespi! Not even telling me you're coming up," with a grunt, Kerrondern swung his ax back into his rope harness, and turned to the newcomers. "So... you're either very ill equipped assassins, or you're running from something. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt, and say you're runners. Caesceum, yeah? Not too far ahead, now. Come with me, or move ahead, I couldn't care less. But, I do have a meal ticket, if you're in need."

    Swinging himself around, Kerrondern started to head down the hill, but stopped himself short. "Oh, and you might want to keep your girl friend close, human. You'll need her to keep you safe, I reckon." Without looking back, Kerrondern started to jog down the hill towards Caesceum, but was pleased to hear the crunch of feet on dirt as the teenagers followed behind.
    FCUvqDP.png

    As he reached the beginnings of Caesceum, Kerrondern flashed his envelope to the guard stationed there. After eyeing the now blindfolded girl's curves, he waved the trio through and pointed Kerrondern North. Strolling through what was rightfully called the canvas city, Kerrondern amused himself with the faces of the pedestrians as they were pushed around by a tree stump. At one point, a burly human tried to block the demon girl's passage, leering as he reached a hand for her bosom, but she quickly put a stop to it as she slammed a fist into his groin and hoisted him over her head before smashing his spine against her knee. Roaring with laughter, Kerrondern led the way through the onlookers, but was slightly put off when no one else tried anything. Just as it was getting good, too! he thought to himself.

    Finally, the tent he was looking for came into view. Before they were twenty feet from it, a huge man ducked out of the tent, and headed to meet them. Taking massive strides, the huge man cleared the distance in three steps and came to a stop in front of the trio. Standing nearly ten feet tall, Sid made Kerrondern seem even smaller than before. "There you are!" the half giant cried, grinning down at Kerrondern, "I wasn't sure you'd get the invitation, let alone come! I, ah, hope the road wasn't too harsh on you, Kerrondern?" Eyeing the greatsword resting on Sid's hip, Kerrondern was almost at a loss for words. I knew he would be tall, but this is ridiculous! I'd have to stand on my own head twice over to look him in the eye! Kerrondern thought.

    With a slight shake of his head, Kerrondern cleared his throat before replying, "Aye, Sid. Wouldn't have come, but the job you've got planned was too good to pass up. Are you sure we'll be able to--"

    "We'll discuss that later, Kerrondern. When we're sure no one is listening?" Sid gestured with his chin at the pair of teenagers as he said this. "I heard about what she did, by the way. World travels fast here. We could use someone as strong as you, Miss... uh..?" The girl crossed her arms, and made a show of keeping her mouth shut, "Right... we'll talk later. But, who's the boy? Don't suppose you've got some kind of strength like hers in those skinny arms of yours?"

    "With all due respect, Sid, I'm tired of standing and walking. Plus, we're all hungry and I may have promised them a bite to eat. You can talk to them later, yeah?" At this, Sid glared down at Kerrondern for a moment, but shook his head with a smile and led them into the tent and called for food to be brought in. "Nobody can say no to a talking tree stump, eh?" Kerrondern remarked to the teenagers as they followed Sid inside. Except everyone...

    After the food was brought to them, Kerrondern took a good chunk of the food and left it for Rikku, and slowly chewed his food as the situation was explain to the two teenagers, who after some prodding revealed their names to be Veloc and Nevea. Halfway through the meal, Kerrondern was shaken from his reverie at the sound of cheering. Excusing himself, Kerrondern wandered out of the tent and followed the sound. Within a minute's walk, he found himself at the edge of a small arena where a pair of men were back to back, fighting off a handful of grekks. The spindly legs carried the man-sized creatures across the terrain with ease, and Kerrondern knew the outcome of the battle before it started. Their swords aren't held right, not for fighting grekks. Those things'll tear them apart, was all that Kerrondern thought as he looked about. Betters were exchanging money, and children looked at the spectacle with wide eyes. One onlooker in particular caught his eye, though. A dark haired youth who didn't even flinch as the pit fighters screamed in agony when the grekks got around to slaughtering them. Every other witness screamed or cheered, depending on where they put their money, but this one seemed not to register the action.

    With a shrug, Kerrondern turned around and headed back to the tent, making sure to look into fighting in the pit later on.
     
    Last edited:

    Farthlion

    I swear to drunk, I'm not Talos.
    Hallis missed the dry air of the Stone Path. There was something about here that made the air heavier; a distinct thickness to it that made it much more difficult to breathe in, so heavy that her shoulders heavde under the weight and pressure. The woman was moving at a rate much slower than the world around her. In contrast her movements were fluid and precise, never stepping too far or in the wrong places. The Ji'rar were slow, but they had a sure-footedness and endurance that would rival that of a horse's.

    She was hungry. As she always was, of course. Hallis had made it a point to stop in the spring to drink plenty of water the night before, as food had become a scarcity the last few days of her journey. If not for the liquid in her stomach, she would be sent the constant reminders of just how hungry she really was. Consequently, she could feel herself slow even more. It was as if she was trapped inside of her own body: Hallis' body was running a split second behind her thoughts. The delayed reactions and slowed pace was beginning to be noticeable, but Hallis did not mind. She had been traveling for several weeks now, day and night with little rest in between. Her shoes may have been falling apart, but judging by the large smile on her face, her spirits were well-intact.

    The last few weeks had been mindblowing. The Ji'rar were always taught to follow the Stone Path, an ancient path that connected at each end to form a circle. For thousands of years her people had traveled the path at the same pace, and due to it, they had been able to avoid occasional dangers that would befall certain areas. They trusted the path, knew the path, and therefore never had strayed from it. She had seen so many new places - places that no Ji'rar had seen before. Others had left before her, but she was certain that when she stepped off of the Stone Path for the first time, she was certain she was the first to do it in that particular spot.

    The letter had com by courier, requesting any able-bodied men to be sent to help contribute to a military campaign. The Ji'rar were no savages. They were just an isolated group who did not concern themselves with the outside world. Things had always been the way they were, and therefore that was how they were going to continue to be. They simply sent the naive, proud Hallis to return the letter all the way back to Caesceum. After all, they were not savages who would waste such fine paper.

    Hallis continued to wonder how far her destination was. Mountains and snow were nothing to the Ji'rar; they were far too hardy and proud of a race. She didn't think twice before using the mountain's pass as a shortcut. She had been told by the elders to stay in one direction. 'Stay in one direction' they said, and she would reach the encampment eventually. So she did, and the clusters of tents began to pop up. More and more appeared as she

    A warmth entered Hallis' nostrils as the smell of roasted boar filled the air. There seemed to be some sort of community feast, as there was a reasonable sized crowd waiting to be served. Everyone was in uniforms. Hallis slowly moved herself into the line of soldiers, each in a similar armor as the other. She came to the front of the line, and her turn came to take her share of the boar. While the chef did not seem amused, he let her go without any complaints. Hallis gave a sheepish smile before running off with her food in hand.

    She sat down on an empty crate, enjoying her first taste of meat since leaving home. Finally, something other than water and bread would fill her stomach. A young man sat down next to her, and she recognized his armor from being from the group of men whom she had just stolen from. With a nod, Hallis and the man acknowledged each other before feasting on the boar.

    She couldn't contain herself when it came to questions. Ji'rar were encouraged to ask questions about all aspects of life, and Hallis just had to ask, "What's the occasion?"

    "Hmm?" The man seemed confused.

    "There's a war going on, right? What is the occasion for such a meal?"

    "It's quite simple," he muttered in an unhappy tone. "There is a war going on and we do not know which meal will be our last. With the Gods damning us to their hells, we might as well eat well for our last meals."

    She wasn't sure what to say in reply to that. The idea of death was not a common fear among the Ji'rar. They were hardier than most humans, and therefore did not die as easily. Most Ji'rar made it well into old age without many complications.

    "But mostly it is because the pig was ready to be slaughtered," he smirked before taking a bite to eat.

    "You're one of those Stonewalkers," the man spoke again. It was more of a statement than a question. Hallis nodded, not getting too upset by the name and stigma that the other races had cast upon her people. It was something she had refused to get worked up about for a long time now. She set down her plate, the surface now devoid of any food. Eating fast was not a Ji'rar thing. It was simply a Hallis thing.

    "Do you know how I get to -" with newfound quickness, she grabbed the folded letter from within the bag that hung from her back. Hallis slowly moved her head to look down at the words scribbled onto the paper, "the pits.... in Caesceum from here?" She wanted to get moving again, but truthfully she also had a job to do and was quite lost. Even in her limited knowledge of the area, she didn't think that there was any cities nearby.

    The man nodded his head, lifting up his hand and pointing north, "You're already technically in Caesceum, just go that way and you will eventually find the pits. It is hard to miss with all the noise." She looked toward the direction he pointed, a hill curving up to block the view of any encampment hiding behind it. Hallis thanked the man before slowly standing up and moving

    She arrived at the pits with a full stomach and content belly. She was to look for a man named Sid. That's all she knew. The area was filled with more people than her entire tribe, and being a courier among them was difficult enough. Hallis made her way to a man sitting down, watching the fights.

    "Hello, I'm looking for Sid. Do you know him?"
     

    Sqeagy

    The Gentle Utensil
    Veloc stayed silent throughout what he had just witnessed. And that's an impressive feat for people who know. The walking, talking tree man thing, the way Nevea manhandled the pervy guard, the giant guy WHO HAD THE NERVE TO INSULT MY STRENGTH! AND NOW THAT TREE MAN JUST LEFT! I CAN'T HOLD IT IN ANY LONGER! Veloc stood out of his chair and opened his mouth, only for Nevea to stand up. "I have no idea what's going on here." "Okay, I can get that. But what was with that strength?! Where was that when that crazy man....woman....thing grabbed us?!" Nevea sat back down and looked at the table. "I...don't know. That guy just got me so annoyed when he knew and called me out as a demon, and then he made fun of you. Than the guard was just the icing on the cake. I just got so mad and then....I just saw red." Veloc sat back down slumping in his chair. "Ok well, I don't really understand that. But there is a lot we don't know about your people. Maybe you're supposed to be super strong. But those guys were right." "Oh geez, about what? Look, you may not be super strong but that doesn't mean you're-" Veloc very quickly stood up and put a foot on the table, startling his companion. "Weak? Perish the thought! You and I both know how strong I am. But in a place like this, not having a weapon makes my cunning near useless. So let's go get me a weapon!" Veloc walked over to the exit of the tent and opened it. Nevea stayed sitting. "I don't think that tree guy will appreciate us eating part of his meal and then ditching." "Please. He didn't even bother telling us his name or asking us ours. I'm sure he won''t lose any sleep over us leaving."

    Off the two went, walking through the area hoping to buy a suitable weapon for Veloc. They multiple smithies, but without much coin of their own the young man's options were limited. "How about these?" Nevea showed him a pack of throwing knives. Veloc tried them out, hitting the target set up for him dead on. "I like it! How much?" The blacksmith, a burly man with an elegant mustache looked at him. "15 coin." "For the entire pack?" "HA! For one knife! These knives were made with some of the finest metal around." Needless to say, some very unpleasant words were exchanged. A fight broke out, and Nevea was forced to drag an upset Veloc away, carrying half a mustache in his hand while the blacksmith was on the floor holding his face. "This is hopeless. Everything costs too much money for us to buy." Nevea was balancing herself on a fence, with Veloc leaning on the same thing. "Maybe I can ask the guards if they know of any jobs around." Veloc rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, a quiet young girl who flipped over a guard almost twice her size asking another guard for help? Both of those bridges have long since burned." At that moment, a tall muscular man walked past the two, wielding two elegantly crafted blades on his back. Veloc's eyes started to sparkle when he saw them. "They're beautiful. I want them. And we're gonna get them." Nevea shook her head. "I don't think that guy will just let you have them. And he looks pretty strong." "You're right. I don't think I'll win in a head on fight. Luckily cunning is my specialty. I'm gonna need your help for this." Nevea jumped down off the fence to listen to her friend's plan.

    Veloc approached the man, who was now surrounded by what he could only assume were his friends.
    "Can I help you?" The man asked, curious as to what the peasant boy in front of him wanted. "Nice swords. I want them." The man started to laugh, his friends following his actions. "That's rich! Listen boy. My father paid the best smiths in the land to make these blades for me." Veloc crossed his arms. "Oh so you're a rich boy huh? Alright then. I'll fight you for them. Fists only. I knock you out, I get the swords." "And if I knock you out, you become my new servant." Veloc nodded in agreement, also sending a signal to his hidden companion. "You are on." The two men got into position as the people backed off to watch the fight. Veloc through a jab to the man's stomach, causing him to spit. He's fast. The man blocked his next punch and swung Veloc around to the ground. The man stood over Veloc and raised his foot. Veloc pushed it away and clapped, only to get shoved to the ground. The man raised his foot again, ready to bring it down. He stopped inches away from Veloc's face, hearing a voice behind him.

    "Excuse me, can you help me find my friend?" The men, including the rich boy who Veloc was fighting, turned around and started to whistle. Nevea had her face covered by a veil, which thankfully was covering both her eyes and blushing face. She hated going along with Veloc's plans, and this had been the worst yet. Veloc had taken the liberty to 'borrow' a courtesan's outfit in the settlement, and unfortunately it fit Nevea perfectly. It was clear it hadn't been washed in a while by the smells, not to mention the 'unidentifiable stains' on it' however a quick wash had made it look somewhat decent. Nevea walked slowly towards the rich boy, sensing many people staring at her as she walked past. She was gonna make Veloc pay for this later. The rich boy walked over to her with a swagger in his step. "I don't know where your friend is, but I've been told I can be very..." The man bent down and rubbed the side of her face. "friendly." Nevea smiled but was falling apart on the inside. He's so creepy! I can't keep this up much longer! Thankfully, she wouldn't need to. Veloc stood back up while everyone was distracted. He started running towards the rich boy. "Hey pretty boy!" Veloc yelled mid-sprint. The man turned around only to see Veloc in the air, his fist crashing into the his face. The rich boy went straight down to Nevea's feet. He started to get up, but Nevea kicked him in the chin, sealing the deal and knocking him out. Veloc grabbed the swords off the man's back sheathe and all and strapped them to his own, also taking the chance to pick the man's pocket. Apparently the man's friend were keen to that idea. They started to surround them Nevea did something very unexpected. She jumped in front of her friend and mouthed the words "You owe me" before facing the crowd and pulled down her top. The men, distracted by the girl's plan started whistling again. Veloc took this chance to slip away an hide in a nearby bush. Knowing that they'd eventually surround her, Nevea extended her arms and used her magic, albeit at a weaker strength, to give the men chills, allowing her to rub away. A couple minutes later Nevea ran by and Veloc grabbed her, pulling her into the bush as the crowd of men ran past. Despite her pale complexion, Veloc had never seen her face so red. "Soo.....lunch?" Nevea ignored him as the two walked back to the tree man's tent, hoping they didn't find those men again any time soon.
     

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    Jack sighed, getting bored with merely watching the fights. He decided he'd waited long enough, and was just about to jump into the pit when he heard someone coming close his way, though he didn't know why. Couldn't be Sid, the footsteps weren't heavy enough. But still, they didn't seem to be the footsteps of someone small.

    Bored anyways, and the footsteps approaching possible offering an interesting diversion, Jack elected to stay sitting and pretend he hadn't noticed. If he ignored them, they would pass by if it wasn't important. If it was important, than they would come to him.

    He was a bit shocked to hear a rather young and friendly sounding female voice, as he'd pictured quite literally the complete opposite.

    He turned around and blinked as he took in the girl that stood above him now, who looked to be around his own age. He focused first on the eyes, a focused and open green, and then the blonde hair and build. She was tall and fit, obviously a good climber, and not too shy at all.

    Jack could barely resist an amused look, examining the girl with what most described as "soullessly predacious" black eyes. He wondered if they would unsettle her at all. Regardless, she didn't seem very alarmed, greeting him and asking where Sid was.
    Jack couldn't resist a half cocked grin as he realized she was also a likely candidate for whatever team Sid was putting together.

    However, he could only offer a shrug. "Sid? Yeah, I know him. He told me to wait right here for him." He answered, trying to make his voice sound as suspicious as possible, as if he were lying, just to see what kind of reaction he would get. His grin and dark eyes lent themselves to the facade rather well.
     
    Last edited:

    EpicVakarian

    Calibration-Master General
    "What the fl*ff have you done, you worthless little beast?!"
    There was a pause.
    "You little c**t, come here!"
    Beth, in her 19-year-old body, huddled behind a wall, unseen and unheard. As she heard her father's footsteps charging around, looking for her, she slowed her breathing and tightened her grip on the huge knife. As the footsteps came toward her, she charged. She failed to get a surprise blow, but managed a glancing blow off his enormous arms. As he fought back, she dodged and dodged, trying desperately to get a second slash in, until finally, she gave in to the bloodlust, leaping past his arms and barely even feeling his blows. She gripped the knife in both hands, lifted it far above her head and brought it down heavily on his throat.
    A disturbing gurgle emerged from both his mouth and his throat, the blood starting to bubble up from the wound, and his blows grew weaker and weaker. She buried the knife again, severing the windpipe and resulting in a horrifying sighing sound every time he tried to breath. Again, and the blood vessels opened, beginning the huge spurts of blood, coating her entire body.
    By the time she stopped stabbing him, he was long dead, and his head was just barely connected by a thread of tendon. There was silence, tears flowing down Beth's face. She stared at her father's head, unable to look away from the lifeless eyes and lolling tongue.
    And there she sat, staring at the head, until suddenly the eyes jerked open and the expression of rage re-established itself on the face, the corpse's hands suddenly grasping at her neck.

    Beth jerked awake suddenly, almost losing her balance on the tree branch ten feet up. She quickly grabbed the trunk behind her, and stabilised herself. While she finished waking up, blinking away the nightmare; the same nightmare that plagued her every time she closed her eyes; she noticed voices closer than when she had climbed up to her branch.

    "Stay here. Ask one of the workers for food or water if you want it. Watch the fights. Wait for future instruction. Choose wisely." There was a slight pause, and someone a lot quieter said something she didn't quite catch. There was a deep, kind laugh.
    "You're weak, frail and stupid! I doubt you're going to live long. But you've got guts, even if I need to show 'em to you one day. And... you're resourceful, deadly, and extremely stealthy. You fly under the radar very well, and we're going to need that."
    The other person spoke again, and again, Beth couldn't make it out.
    "For a scouting team, of course. An army needs eyes, son. Especially with the gods themselves bearing down on us. My team will be just one of many, and I found you first. Consider me a talent scout. You will be joined by the other members at some point. Try not to die."

    After that, the conversation seemed to end. Beth rolled onto her feet, crouching in the branch to get a glimpse of who might be speaking.
    It seemed that the 'talent scout' was a half-giant, or at least partly giantkin. He was enormous, a mountain of a man. A wide array of thoughts went through Beth's head very quickly.
    First, Beth had to say, even with the limited information she'd gleaned from half the conversation, she was interested. Scouting and stealth were her specialities, to be sure, and she was going insane waiting for something meaningful to do. However, the phrase "especially with the gods themselves bearing down on us" couldn't not instill a twinge of fear in her.
    But then, in all honesty, she couldn't bring herself to push the opportunity away. She had very little to lose; no family, no friends, nothing to deter her from death.

    Her mind made up, she stood upright and followed closely behind the huge man, silently leaping between tree branches until she caught up with his long strides. Once she was about ten feet ahead of him, she dropped down and rolled on impact, bringing her knife up in her hand to shock the man.
    He wasn't shocked. He simply smiled, and let Beth lower her knife.

    "Impressive," he said, "how long have you been following me, girl?"
    Beth grit her teeth in response to being called 'girl', but kept her gaze on his brown eyes.
    "I want in. On this scouting team."
    "That long, hmm?" He chuckled slowly, his lips curling upwards. "Well, I can't say you're not subtle. Borderline suicidal, but stealthy."
    "I can scout for you, I can eavesdrop for you, I can do whatever you ask of me."
    "Hmm." He paused, glaring at her with narrowed eyes. "Well, you know where the other guy is. Jack."
    Beth narrowed her eyes. "You heard me, get going. Let him know why you're there, and know that if you disappoint me, I won't hesitate to get rid of you."

    She nodded, letting the man pass before exhaling and giving a small smile. If luck was on her side, she would die a good death, for a good cause. If it wasn't, she'd die regardless. As far as she was concerned, it was a win-win.

    Surprisingly, it seemed she wasn't the first to turn up at the small tent. There was a very tall, fairly muscular young woman with braided blonde hair, standing in the doorway.

    "Hello, I'm looking for Sid. Do you know him?"
    "Sid? Yeah, I know him. He told me to wait right here for him." The man (who Beth assumed was Jack) had a suspicious tone to his voice, making it sound like a lie. Beth knew it was true, even if she hadn't known Sid's name until just then... if that was indeed the huge man's name.
    She stepped silently behind the tall woman, and saw Jack's smirk.

    "He's telling the truth," she said, drawing their attention. "He sent me here too." Grimacing, she bitterly held out her hand to the young woman in front of her, nodding at Jack. "He's called Jack. He's Sid's first recruit to a scouting team. If you're the second, then I'm the third."
     
    Last edited:

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Kerrondern watched as Veloc and Nevea slipped out of the tent, presumably to leave the area before anyone thought to look for them again. Aw, shucks, and they didn't even say goodbye, he thought jokingly, as Kerrondern entered the tent. As he held his old stone ax, Kerrondern noticed a crack running down the center of the stone. Running a finger along the fissure, Kerrondern couldn't help but feel surprised at how long the weapon had lasted him. What, nearly seventeen years? Though the ax hadn't seen as much use as a combat weapon, it had been a part of his life from an early age. All good things must end, I suppose, he thought to himself. Turning, Kerrondern left the tent in search of a weapon smith.
    FCUvqDP.png

    Kerrondern approached a small forge, heat blowing out of the open tent. Peeking inside, he watched as the forge master hammered away at a glowing piece of metal, beating it into the shape of an elegant longsword, before plunging the weapon into a trough of water. Wiping his brow, the Elven smith turned to look at Kerrondern, and eyed his worn out ax.

    "Hail! The name's Melswey. Welcome!" Holding out his leather gloved hand, the smith smiled down at Kerrondern, waiting expectantly. "Korrel," Kerrondern lied, reaching out his own hand and shaking the Elf's. "I'm looking for a new weapon, preferably something like my own stone ax, but stronger. I think I'll need something better than this, for where I'm going."

    "Sounds good, though I wouldn't call that chunk of ore an ax anymore. Not for a long time. But, I have something in mind that I think you'll like," Melswey whistled as he disappeared into a second room of his tent, and reappeared moments later with a small, pickax-like weapon. Blunt and square on one side, and sharp on the other, it seemed like a hand-held version of a warhammer. "I've taken to calling it a combat hammer. Good for smashing as well as stabbing. Giver it a few swings, see how it feels."

    Hefting the weapon, Kerrondern swung the hammer in slashes and circles, using it in ways he normally used his stone ax for. Balanced, powerful, and the blade looks wicked... let's see what I can get it for, Kerrondern thought, handing the hammer back to the smith. "Seems nice, but the ends feel a bit off. I'll give you... forty pieces for it. I'll need to make my own adjustments to it, so that seems a fair price," Kerrondern looked up at the smith, waiting for the counteroffer. "Mm, no. Can't do that. It took me months to get the weight right, and I don't make mistakes. Sixty," the Elf replied. Damn! "Doesn't matter if it feels right for you, sir. There needs to be more weight in the head, or I won't be able to swing it right. Besides, I'll still need to make my own adjustments, make a sheath, plus the bindings. Forty-two? Plus my own ax?"
    FCUvqDP.png

    Fifteen minutes of haggling later, Kerrondern was walking back to Sid's tent, having paid a hefty forty-seven pieces of his savings from mercenary work, and his old ax, for his new combat hammer and fitted sheath. Kerrondern was almost at Sid's tent when the youth he'd seen earlier caught his eye, talking to what looked like a Ji'rar, and a smaller woman. With nothing better to do, Kerrondern decided to head over and see what the odd group was up to.

    Making no effort towards concealing himself, Kerrondern wasn't surprised when all three stopped their conversation to watch him as he came closer. "So," he asked, "what's a Stonewalker doing in Caesceum? Sid send for you?" Was all he said, doing his best to give a friendly grin.
     

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    Jack never got to see the reaction of the girl with the green, open eyes. He blinked as if struck when another, a woman several years older than himself, appeared. Jack dropped his grin, his right eyebrow raising slightly, frowning with some of his teeth showing. The look, when combined with his eye color, was like that of a shark which had tasted something it found to be profoundly inedible.

    He had gotten distracted, and hadn't detected the woman's approach. Not only that, but she'd spoiled his fun. So, his attention now on the newcomer, he gave her much the same examination as he had the first girl.

    She was about his own height and weight, though Jack didn't doubt that he had the edge as far as raw strength went. She had brown hair, tied back. Probably because she didn't want it in the way, but wasn't so masculine as to simply cut it off. Jack was thankful for that, she looked good with long hair. Her dark blue eyes held an intensity there which lacked the same openness as the younger girl. In fact, if Jack's eyes possessed a distinguishable color, he suspected they would share much the same disposition. However, his black eyes reflected nothing.

    "Well, two of you and one of me. I like these odds so far." Jack said with an amused look, recovering his grin quickly. "One of you ladies care to help me to my feet?" He asked, extending one of his hands, his hunting scars and callouses becoming evident, along with the bandages his clothes concealed as his sleeves rolled up. He gave a slight chuckle, echoing Sid's earlier words. "'Choose wisely'. I don't bite. Least, not harder than you can take." He winced at the exertion on his right arm, though he tried to conceal it.

    Soon after, he heard yet more approaching footsteps, these rather confident, although the stride wasn't very long. He wasn't disappointed as he resisted the urge to laugh at the dwarf tree which strolled into the tent, as if such a little thing was on official business, and asked after Sid.

    He couldn't resist laughing, but quickly payed for it as it triggered coughing. He concealed his hurts, however, and continued holding out his hand expectantly, a half cocked grin on his face.
     
    Last edited:

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Kerrondern held his smile at the young man's laughter, horribly concealed with a fit of coughing. "You would do well to learn to hide your reactions, child. Worse things than I await you in this world, and few as agreeable as me." Turning toward the Ji'rar, Kerrondern made a point to act like he was ignoring the boy's outstretched hand, gauging the effect of his response on the boy. Smiling a bit more at the unhappy response the boy gave, Kerrondern addressed the tall woman, "Haven't met many of your kind in my travels, but I understand your people are very reliable. My own letter mentioned something about the Ji'rar being invited. Will your prowess be added to the excursion, then?"
     

    Sqeagy

    The Gentle Utensil
    "So now you're just gonna ignore me? I know you're mad, but come on." Veloc argued to Nevea. She stayed silent, walking ahead of him, trying to find the tree man's tent. "Okay I admit, not one of my best plans. But I didn't tell you to do that last part. That was your quick thinking." Nevea turned to face her companion but continued walking backwards, her face still slightly red. "I feel disgusting. I got rid of those clothes ten minutes ago and I still feel bad. That is the last time you make a plan like that again. Got it?" Veloc put his arms behind his head and looked away, casually whistling. "I'm serious Veloc! Got it?!" Nevea stopped and stared him down. "Yeah yeah, I got it. You know, you should be this demanding with other people." Nevea shook her head. "I haven't known other people as long as I've known you. But I know I wouldn't have to be so demanding with them to act like a normal person instead of-" Veloc sighed as she went on. How many times has he heard this speech? It didn't help that she continued to walk backwards. Veloc stopped short as she kept going. "Uh Nevea?" "Don't interrupt me! You don't listen to me ever about these stupid plans and I'm always the one-" "Nevea..." "who gets hurt and you come out of it like a bandit. It just isn't fair that-" "Nevea." "What?!" Veloc winced as Nevea backed into someone, tripping and falling onto the ground. "Ow. I'm so sorry-Oh it's you again." Nevea looked up to see a group of people, but mainly looking at the Tree Man they had met from before. "You know, i don't think it will work well for us if you keep barking up the wrong tree."
     

    Farthlion

    I swear to drunk, I'm not Talos.
    Hallis watched the young man for a moment before giving him a wide smile. She reached out her hand to help him up, careful to not squeeze or pull too hard, for he wasn't one of her kin. "When will he arrive?" she inquired, her accent obvious, "I need to return this letter."

    "So what's a Stonewalker doing in Caesceum? Sid send for you?" The man smiled, and out of habit, she gave a smile back. She wasn't sure who he was, but she certainly didn't have any reason to treat him poorly. However, it was mostly Hallis' naivety that fueled her lack of suspiciousness. "Haven't met many of your kind in my travels, but I understand your people are very reliable. My own letter mentioned something about the Ji'rar being invited. Will your prowess be added to the excursion, then?"

    Hallis was slow to react to the man's words, taking them in for a brief moment before carefully constructing her reply, "We do not prefer the term 'Stonewalker'. The Ji'rar have sent me to return the letter Sid has sent. We do not wish to dabble in the misfortunes of others." It was a well scripted reply. In fact, it was a reply that the elders had her memorize before she had embarked. They had expected that Sid would want a reason for their lack of participation in this war. The past few days had her dreaming of the many unexplored places off of the Stone Path. If something were to interfere with her coming home, she couldn't be blamed, could she? She would eventually go home.... but only after she had seen every inch of the world.
     

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    "We do not prefer the term 'Stonewalker'. The Ji'rar have sent me to return the letter Sid has sent. We do not wish to dabble in the misfortunes of others." The young woman said, returning the smile. Mistfortunes, eh? "Ah, that's too bad, we-" Kerrondern was cut off as someone quite literally tripped over him. Hand going to his hammer, Kerrondern turned to look at who he recognized to be the demon girl, Nevea. "Ow. I'm so sorry-Oh it's you again," she said, looking around at the circle of faces. Relaxing a bit, Kerrondern took her hand and lifted her off the ground, and looked back to see the human boy, Veloc. "You know," he said sarcastically, "I don't think it will work well for us if you keep barking up the wrong tree."

    "Funny, boy. You come up with that yourself?" Sighing, Kerrondern turned to address the Ji'rar ash the demon returned to her friend's side. "As I was saying, it's too bad you won't be coming. We'll be moving all over the land, probably see some caves and valleys, and your people often spot things others miss, from what I understand. But, if you're looking to return that to Sid, I can take it for you. I'll be talking to him later."

    Kerrondern looked to the pair of humans in the tent, and waved them over. "So," he said, looking between the two, "who're you?"
     

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    Jack's grin dropped for a moment at the tree dwarf thing's comment, but only for a moment. Although the thing seemed pleased with itself that, if only for a moment, he had wiped Jack's smirk off his face. Give him the small battles. Was Jack's only thought, before the green eyed woman took Jack's hand and began to help him to his feet.

    Strong, but gentle. Maybe a little too trusting, but strong enough so that it doesn't matter. Jack's grin grew as he assessed the young woman, the darker side of his thoughts subtly goading and tempting him. Wonder how well she'd do in a game of cat and mouse...

    Jack blinked at the unwelcome thought, dropping to a neutral expression as he gathered his senses. The conversation in the room had moved on without him by now, and he didn't see a reason to interject. However, Jack still wasn't fully recovered, and his mind, slower to recover than the rest of him, was still fatigued.

    He tried to focus on the conversation as a distraction, his arms crossed and tapping a finger lightly on his arm, as if nervous or impatient. His dark eyes reflected very little, as was their habit, however soon merely focusing on the conversation wasn't enough.

    That was about when a few new people stumbled upon the tent, one of them tripping over the stump guy and making quite a scene. That was enough to snap Jack back out of his mind, and he realized he'd probably been about to start a fight. He shrugged it off, as the people in this room could probably kill him with ease, and he wasn't as afraid of dying as he was of attacking a random a person.

    His eyes immediately focused on the girl's blindfold, as he laughed and threw out a mocking verbal jab.
    "What are you? Blind?" What could be construed as a mere callous remark that slipped out before it could be helped in other situations was most evidently not. Jack meant it to cause some sort of strife, and his half cocked grin and mischievous eyes made that quite obvious.

    His look dropped very quickly, however, as the comment he was about to make about the newcomer's hair was bit back and he was temporarily stunned by what he saw approaching from outside the tent. Whatever words were fired at him in those moments were only dimly registered, as he ignored them, eyes slightly wide in what could be horror or outrage, and his jaw line tightened as his teeth clenched.

    Approaching the tent was Sid, and walking beside him were two girls. One of them the purple eyed girl whom had healed him, and the other, chatting up a storm, was his little sister.

    Maybe it's just to send me off or something. Get to see me a little bit before we get things kicked off...

    For what was possibly a once in a lifetime occurrence, Jack was speechless, and his emotions bare as his sister approached the tent, eyes lighting up as she spotted him, and ran ahead to hug him tightly.

    His smile returned as he picked up his little sister and swung her around, genuine at first but quickly becoming forced as Sid drew closer.
    No, I KNOW what this is about, and I'm going to kill him for it.

    He blinked the thought away, and was about to raise his voice as Sid came within earshot, to demand an answer to his question. Why did you bring Amandalyn here?!

    Sid saw the look on Jack's face, and chuckled. He knew what he was going to ask long before he was going to ask it, and had planned in advance. He raised his hand to halt Jack's outburst, eyeing the look on Jack's face and the hand on one of his knives, other arm absent mindedly on his sister's shoulder, ready to move her out of the way. "There's no need for that. You know why she's here, and you should let her explain. It was by her own choice."

    Jack's eyes widened in incredulity, and he was about to fire off a vehement, sarcastic retort, when his sister grabbed his hand and it removed it from her shoulder, casually jumping up to bop him over the side of the head to get his attention. "Jack, it's okay." She said gently, as if placating a wounded animal. She held his eyes, and stood her ground against his fierce gaze, barely harboring the animosity which she knew was swirling around his mind like a black fog. "It's okay..." She repeated, holding her hands out to either side, showing him her palms as if to show that she wasn't armed and had no intention of fighting, as she realized just how far this had pushed him. She grew a little pale, her voice getting smaller, as she realized she may had miscalculated. "Jack... this way you'll be close enough to protect me... and we can stay together. I don't want to be alone here with all of these strangers..."

    Jack seemed to be regaining a little bit of composure, his breathing slowing down, as he steadily tried to form words. He failed a few times, then brought a hand to his face, covering his eyes, and shook his head. "I've got to learn to take care of myself Jack... and besides, all of these people will be there to help!" She said the last part more to herself than to Jack, desperately searching for support among the crowd. With her back turned, she was oblivious to Sid's reactions behind her. The giant evidently took Jack very seriously, this possibly being some form of calculated test, and had an enormous great sword drawn and ready, eyes never leaving Jack's movements.

    The other girl who had walked beside him possibly could have walked unnoticed among the commotion, if she wasn't such a spectacle to behold herself. Whereas Jack had mainly focused on her faintly glowing purple eyes, which were no doubt beautiful, he had been in very little position to truly appreciate what he was seeing. The girl was eye catching. Long black hair, exotic (naturally tanned), smooth skin. High cheekbones, slender, light, and petite in figure. She was of close to average height. She didn't look dressed for any combat or otherwise strenuous activities, dressed quite casually in pants and a shirt (although they were obviously well made and on the more expensive side).

    However, her expression was unsettling. She seemed to be smiling slightly at Jack's outburst, willing him to snap. As if she wanted to see the great sword cleave him if he lost control. Her eyes reflected an equally unsettling glint, one which was at once amused and perplexed, as if she were watching an interesting experiment unfold before her and the subjects weren't sentient beings.

     
    Last edited:

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Kerrondern had the distinct feeling that this Jack person had a violent streak, given Sid's posture and actions. The girl isn't afraid of him, he thought to himself, but maybe she should be. With a grunt, Kerrondern stepped between Jack and the girl, and moved Jack's hand away from his weapons. Turning for a moment, Kerrondern gave the girl a warm smile and looked up at Sid with a pointed look. Don't worry, I've got this too.

    "Now," he said, "I don't know about all of you, but I came here to do a job. Unless any of you object, I say we should all take it. More hands, and all that. Sid?"
     

    The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass

    Sahrot Vahlok Spaan. Bahnahgaar. Minion #88!
    Staff member
    There were very few people who could approach and disarm Jack when he was in such a mood. He supposed, with a small glint of amusement among his fury, that a small talking tree stump was enough of a spectacle to let it pass. The notion was so ridiculous given the circumstances that he almost chuckled. He still had not fully recovered from his temper of course, but was now sufficiently lucid to realize that he was in considerably more danger than any of the people around him. He had no doubt that Sid could close the distance between them and cut him down with no effort, and many of the other gathered hirelings had been selected for a reason. They wouldn't be here if they weren't tough enough to handle a hot blooded fool with mental issues.

    While that didn't entirely explain why exactly his sister was allowed to tag along with this team, staying in the base being far safer no matter their credentials, there were other dangers he had to look out for now that he and his sister were truly distanced from the rest of their family...

    With all that said, he agreed with the tree stump. He was ready to hear whatever it was they would be doing.

    Sid gave everyone an amused look as he took on a casual stance, resting his great sword lazily across his shoulders. "Well first I'm going to need all of you who are ready to commit to this little force to let this fine lass I've brought along to dig around in your noggins a bit. Make sure you're stable," he gave Jack a pointed look before continuing, "and set up a telepathic link, so that we can communicate quickly and quietly in the field. I understand if any of you have any objections, but this is the most important condition of your participation. Of course, you have my word that she will not poke around anywhere you don't want her too, and that your pay for work will more than compensate you for the risk."

    Jack stepped forward first, "Why wouldn't I want such a beautiful lady poking- whatever just get it over with." He cut off his attempt at humor upon seeing the smile on the purple eyed girl's face, a smile which did not reach her eyes. Jack's assumed composure and humor, quite a rapid bounce back all things considered, was put to the test as he heard a feminine voice which sounded as if it was directly in his ear, but he was sure it hadn't come from anyone around him- he didn't recognize it and the purple eyed girl's mouth hadn't moved...

    Already established your level of... sanity and.... created a link. There is no need of further... interaction with you. The words were selected carefully, as if the next choice of word was being analyzed and dissected before it was chosen to be sent forth with what was almost an amused purr.

    Jack's eyes widened in brief surprise before he regained a rough sort of composure, "Oh come on, you don't even want a little peek at what I'm thinking right now?" He put on a half cocked grin, determined to at least try and throw the girl off balance. But he suspected she could see right through him, and that he was very self conscious about just how far into his mind she had delved, and how much she knew. The stakes were now raised considerably for him, as she could have done anything while he was out of commission from the monster attack. She gestured with a tilt of her head and her eyes for him to move, and meeting her eyes, he could tell she was reading his line of thought like a book. Clearly miffed, he backed off.

    "I guess you've already figured out that we already took care of you, Jack." Sid said aloud for the benefit of the others. He offered no apology for the breach in privacy nor compassion.

    Jack tried to talk his sister out of it one last time, though he knew it was futile, then resigned resigned himself to wait.
     
    Last edited:

    Sqeagy

    The Gentle Utensil
    There was a look of confusion on the faces of both Nevea and Veloc. The two looked at each other, than back at the group of people. "Uh excuse me, we're not-Whoa!" Veloc grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. "Whoa whoa whoa slow down." He whispered. "This may be our best bet at finding a job. And being scouts for the actual army? We probably won't even have to fight anyone." Nevea shook her head, looking at her companion through her blindfold. "I don't think being a scout is that simple. We have to be stealthy and quiet. I could do that. But you make more noise than half this camp." "Fine. I just figured you were tired of convoluted plots and stupid ideas to get money." "....ugh Fine." Nevea kept her back turned as Veloc looked at the group. "Sid right? We're in too. As long as the pay is as good as you're making it out to be."
     

    Wauten Dayhil

    Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
    Kerrondern couldn't hear all that was said, but he knew the demon girl wasn't as excited about the job as her friend. Waddling over to them, Kerrondern nudged the girl with his elbow, hitting her thigh. "Don't worry, girl. Your friend'll have your back when it comes down to it," was all he said before turning back to the group. "Now, then. Jack the Ripper, a scrawny human, a blind 'girl,' and a talking stump walk into a bar... does anyone else come, too? Or can we all get drunk now?"
     

    Recent chat visitors

    Latest posts

Top